Worcester Sharks win, stay alive for playoffs

Tuesday

Apr 1, 2014 at 11:42 PMApr 2, 2014 at 5:39 AM

WORCESTER — The Sharks' playoff push just got another much-needed nudge forward. Worcester never trailed and got solid contributions in all three phases to defeat the Portland Pirates, 3-2, Tuesday night for its second straight win and third in the past four games before a sparse gathering at the DCU Center.

Worcester never trailed and got solid contributions in all three phases to defeat the Portland Pirates, 3-2, Tuesday night for its second straight win and third in the past four games before a sparse gathering at the DCU Center.

The mere mention of the playoffs was as funny as a Jimmy Kimmel monologue as the Sharks closed February with seven straight losses.

But they've gone 11-4 since then, and following their latest win find themselves — while still in 10th place — just five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with eight games to play.

"Look, we were 15 points back a little while ago," said coach Roy Sommer, who gave a quick fist-pump after the final horn sounded, and the Sharks had held off a late charge by the last-place Pirates.

"We went on that seven-game skid and were basically done in the water. Now we're five points back and knocking on the door. We've got teams ahead of us, and if we beat them, it will make it interesting."

Norfolk (77 points) and Hershey (76) hold down the eighth and ninth spots, respectively. Both were idle Tuesday, so they have a game in hand on the Sharks, who have eight games remaining — seven at home — and 72 points.

The Sharks will play their final road game of the season against the Providence Bruins at 7 p.m. Friday. They'll host Hershey the next night while Norfolk pays a visit April 12.

"It's just more motivation for us to finish the season strong," center Freddie Hamilton said. "We got down with that losing streak a little bit ago, but a lot of credit to our team for battling back. We didn't quit, and we've given ourselves a chance here.

"That's something to be proud of, and hopefully we can close that gap even more. The key word is consistency. Every game is important for us now, and we just have to bear down. We can't take a game off because that might be the difference."

The Sharks held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 with the goals coming from Travis Oleksuk in the first period, Hamilton in the second on a five-on-three power play, and Matt Pelech in the third. The Pirates got a pair from forward Tobias Rieder, giving him 26 on the season, while goalie Louis Domingue made 32 saves.

It was Pelech's third goal in 25 games with Worcester. Stationed down low with his back to the crease, he redirected and roofed an on-target offering by Mirco Mueller from the left circle with a nifty backhander in close confines with 13:28 to play.

"It was a good puck to the net by (Mueller) and I got a stick on it," Pelech said, "so it's pretty simple hockey, and it's what they're telling us to do. It seems to work a lot of the time."

It was the pro debut for Mueller, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound defenseman drafted by San Jose with the 18th overall selection in 2013.

He arrived here Monday in time for practice after his WHL team was eliminated from the playoffs, and he didn't look out of place Tuesday.

"He's got work to do, but you can see why he's a high pick," Sommer said, citing mobility as one of the 19-year-old Swiss native's strengths.

Troy Grosenick, in net for a second straight game, finished with 21 saves and improved to 6-1 in his last seven starts. He did his best work in the second half of the second period, turning aside or smothering five strong shots after the disinterested Pirates finally became engaged following their first goal.

"He played really well up there in Portland against them, so I just went back with him," Sommer said of Grosenick's 27-save performance in a 5-3 win last Wednesday. "Nothing against Harri (Sateri), he's been great. Our goalies down the stretch have been really good."

Shark Bites

The game concluded the season series between these Atlantic Division foes, the Sharks winning it, 8-4. … Oleksuk also had an assist and has 3-3-6 totals during his four-game point streak. He registered 13 points in 12 games against the Pirates. … Hamilton's goal was his 20th and extended his team lead. …. The Sharks are 17-13-0-1 at home. … Defenseman Rob Davison completed his league-imposed, three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head. … The crowd was listed at 1,544, but was more like 200.